Ophrys apifera- the bee orchid - Orchid Board

MysticOrchid · #1 06-09-2013, 02:15 PM

Yesterday, during the walk throw the forest in my countryside, I noticed a bunch of bee orchids, they're really rare in my country!

Ophrys apifera... I collected two of them, with their tubers and the whole plant, and also I took some soil from the place they have grown. Now, I am planning to grow them in my garden, does anyone know something about them? (they're hardy orchids

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cbuchman · #2 06-09-2013, 02:40 PM

MysticOrchid, here in the US it is illegal or not accepted to dig orchids from the wild. It is very difficult to replicate the wild conditions under which the orchids were growing without great care and research. Conservation of wild orchids is something to support and encourage. People who do find wild orchids, often keep the location a secret to discourage people from locating the colony.

Your best bet for success, now that you have them, is to understand the environment from which they came - temperatures, rainfall, humidity, air movement, soil and other environmental factors and do you best to emulate them.

james mickelso · #3 06-09-2013, 07:09 PM

Mystic is correct. Unless these orchids are under immediate threat of destruction you should never remove/collect any plant from the wild. I know that 20 years ago Ophrys were common but due to increased land use and habitat destruction they are becoming quite rare. So now unless you learn what the plant needs to survive, you have killed off a threatened species. Get on the internet and learn as much as you can about the plants and in the future please respect the remaining wild flora in the wild. When I was younger I used to collect plants (mainly cactus and vernal pool wildflowers) from areas around where I lived that were going to be graded for housing developments. I found suitable habitat where they could be relocated either to land owners who would safeguard them or to open space where no development was planned in the near future. When I was growing bonsai I used to go out into the mountains and collect wild wind stunted trees to pot and train as bonsai. But now that I have educated myself on the negative impacts this causes I now only do it when all conditions are perfect for transplant. So I speak from and understand both sides.

theroc1217 · #4 06-09-2013, 07:30 PM

I think he meant that he collected them from his own property. But you guys are right. If anything, he should have built the garden around the plants still in the ground. Many plants only grow in certain places, as well; more details are important than you realize. For example, our state flower is msotly found growing on shaded hills in mixed forests, because otherwise it doesn't get enough drainage.

I've seen it done a couple times here in MN: rock circles will be placed around clumps of orchids or rare ferns, and as the clumps expand the rocks are moved outwards. It's really an interesting process.

The only time I would remove a plant from the wild like that is in a situation like what happens with Irises: the clump grows so tightly that they're no longer able to produce flowers.

james mickelso · #5 06-09-2013, 09:00 PM

Yeah. I've seen it done with cactus. My friend in Michigan says that trillium used to be everywhere but that due to collecting of the corms/bulbs (?) they are very rare now. Here we are cursed with good weather and wonderful beaches and everyone wants to live here. Blue-eyed grass used to be pervasive on the coast. Now all that remains of the huge stands of it is on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The hills are a blush blue in the spring in places. When I was a kid on the beach here I used to see coyotes and deer on the beach some mornings and in spring wildflowers covered the cliffs. Gone are the huge patches of California poppies and lupine. (wipes a tear).

MysticOrchid · #6 06-10-2013, 06:09 AM

Don't worry guys, the location that I found them is a big secret. It's really a shame for our country, that nobody knows about these really rare orchids, actually nobody knows that we ACTUALLY HAVE orchids in our country. We have so much national parks, so much rare things to see, including plants, animals. Sometimes I think that I am the only person in my town that is interested in rare wild life, especially plants like the orchids. I didn't tell nobody, anything about these orchids, I will hope that they will propagate in the forest and increase their number in the wild. I am trying to protect them in any possible way, but I can't guarantee myself, that someone won't step over them while walking the forest, and I am very worried about that. All that remains is HOPE for them. I will visit them today again in the forest and see what's goin' on. Hope for them...